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Thread: First attempt at knife making

  1. #1

    Default First attempt at knife making

    Overall it was a great experience, made plenty of mistakes, but I learned a lot from the whole thing. Reading the posts here gave me a good base of knowledge to start with. It's made from O-1 steel, 3/16" thick, 1 1/2" wide, and about 9 inches long. The handle is a piece of oak that was laying around.

    blank.jpg
    O-1 blank

    pins.jpg
    Turning down old brass bolts for pins

    parts.jpg
    Blade roughed out, and pins made. The pins recess into the handle and are pressed together.

    01132011027.jpg
    Hardening

    almost.jpg
    What it looks like now, need to finish sand/polish and form the handle once I figure out what I want it to look like.

    Any and all criticism is highly encouraged. I'm not satisfied with how it turned out but I guess you can't expect much for a first try. I'm planning on rounding the handle quite a bit until its comfortable and finishing the wood with Tru Oil or similar.


  2. #2
    Senior Member Winter's Avatar
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    The best critic for your first knife is you.

    Looks much like my first one.
    I had a compass, but without a map, it's just a cool toy to show you where oceans and ice are.

  3. #3
    Senior Member Camp10's Avatar
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    A very solid first knife! I doubt you will get much criticism here but if you have questions, just ask. What have you learned that you might try different? Be sure to round the handle out as much as you can , it will help with comfort.

    Oh, and before 2D beats me to it...why not cut your way to the introduction section and rough out a nice intro for us? Thanks!
    "The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits." - Albert Einstein

  4. #4
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
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    Looks much better than my first knife. Well done. Make sure that you let us see it when you finish up the handle.
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  5. #5
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Camp10 View Post
    Oh, and before 2D beats me to it...why not cut your way to the introduction section and rough out a nice intro for us? Thanks!
    ****snort, chuckle****
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  6. #6
    Senior Member Ted's Avatar
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    Looks great! First try, you should be quite happy with that! It'll look even better after you round out the handle edges. You did temper it didn't you.
    I'm a simple man, of simple means, turned my back on the machines, to follow my dreams.

  7. #7

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    thanks for the encouragement. I'll make my over to the intro section in a bit.

    Yeah I did temper it, but I didn't take any pics of that part. It should be about 58-60 rockwell according to the tempering chart I followed.

    I definitely learned that ALL of the finish sanding should probably be done prior to hardening. I spent quite a bit of time hand sanding after the fact. That and I made the handle too wide, but I guess that just means more wood had to come off. I still have 9" of the O-1 so I'll be making another shortly.

  8. #8

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    Cool!! Looking forward to that project. Great first knife too. And I'll just go ahead and welcome you here.... Welcome to the Camp!
    Because a survival situation carries an aura of timelessness, a survivor cannot allow himself to be overcome by it's duration or quality. A survivor accepts the situation as it is and improves it from that standpoint. Prologue from Outdoor Survival Skills by Larry Dean Olsen

  9. #9
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    Nice job. Ka Bar had a first knife. (Ka, funny name for a guy). Thanks for sharing with us.
    Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.

  10. #10
    Senior Member mccaw69's Avatar
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    Looks great!You should be proud to carry it!As you continue to make more,you'll get better,learning from your mistakes n such,soon you'll have it down to an art. You'll see.I still carry my first self made,it's been a great knife,thinking about making a necker next.
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  11. #11
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    Nicely done.

    I have my first steel en route as I type this (I decided to order some known stock for my first real attempt instead of guessing at to what scrap I have around). The nice thing is its long enough that I can several blades out of it so I have a lot to work with incase of mistakes.

  12. #12

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    Valiant first try!!I like it when some one says to hell with it all and just starts making what they see in their Head...Keep this one and use it well,In 5 years post a picture of the first one you made and the one you made the most recent and enjoy the feeling.BTW...nice looking Lathe ,what kind is it?
    (G)
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  13. #13
    Spark Maker panch0's Avatar
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    Nice job sir and welcome!
    -Frank

    Whether the knife falls on the melon or the melon on the knife, the melon suffers. (African Proverb)

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  14. #14
    knifemaker p moore's Avatar
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    I feel pretty sure this will not be your last knife. Once the bug has bitten...... One thing, Keep this knife, what ever you do. Years, and many knives down the road you can pull it back out and see where you came from. You will be suprised at the way things change over time as you make more and more.

    Great first knife. Now get out there and put it to the test.

    Paul
    I like this little guy

    http://pmooreknives.webs.com

  15. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by Reverend Greg View Post
    Valiant first try!!I like it when some one says to hell with it all and just starts making what they see in their Head...Keep this one and use it well,In 5 years post a picture of the first one you made and the one you made the most recent and enjoy the feeling.BTW...nice looking Lathe ,what kind is it?
    (G)
    It's my old man's Enco, think it has a 36" table but I don't remember for sure. He was a machinist for over 30 years, and he likes it so it must not be too bad.

  16. #16

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    Quote Originally Posted by p moore View Post
    I feel pretty sure this will not be your last knife. Once the bug has bitten...... One thing, Keep this knife, what ever you do. Years, and many knives down the road you can pull it back out and see where you came from. You will be suprised at the way things change over time as you make more and more.

    Great first knife. Now get out there and put it to the test.

    Paul
    Trying it out will be the best part. I'm hoping to use it on a spring turkey this year.

  17. #17
    knifemaker p moore's Avatar
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    Be sure to bring back some pics.

    Paul
    I like this little guy

    http://pmooreknives.webs.com

  18. #18

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    done.jpg

    Here's what it ended up as. I put 3 coats of Tru Oil on it and it turned out pretty nice. Also put a 19 degree edge on with the sharpening tool its in. Now on to the next one...

  19. #19
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
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    It turned out nice. Well done.
    Can't Means Won't

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  20. #20
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    That is a nice knife. You guys make handles too big for my dainty hands. I need a knife that can allow my pinky to extend too. But it's a nice one for sure.
    Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.

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